Published the first Friday of each month by the SilverStringers of Melrose, Massachusetts -- February 3, 2012

This is the vista Melrosians see from the 12th fairway of our Mount Hood Municipal Golf Course -- a towering piece of rugged, rocky landscape that was carved out by the last ice age. The peak of "The Hood" is a lofty 270 feet above sea level, providing magnificent views of Boston, the Blue Hills beyond, the South Shore and the Atlantic Ocean, four miles to the east. In the sprawling suburbia of eastern Massachusetts, Melrose remains a quiet, residential community, still referred to as "the bedroom of Boston".

Why, it's Valentine's Day ... Why, in this year of depression and trials, do we continue to live life as if nothing has changed. Perhaps it is good to celebrate those things dear to us, like Christmas, the Fourth of July -- and of course, Valentine's Day. Above all, love seems to be the most enduring of all our feelings, and so, under impetus provided by Melrosian Candis Jan Stout, we put together a collection of stories of life itself -- of life, as it has been on Valentine's Day. Ms. Stout will produce the program on February 14th, in song and readings, at the Milano Center on West Foster Street.This program is supported in part by a grant from Melrose Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.